


change

by worms212



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: (sort of), (vaguely) - Freeform, First years as third years, Friendship, Gen, Graduation, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, How Do I Tag, Kitagawa Daiichi, Making Up, Third Year Kageyama Tobio, Third Year Kindaichi Yuutarou, i have not posted anything since the ffn days so, kunimi is mentioned but does not appear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:21:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24298021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worms212/pseuds/worms212
Summary: Other patrons mill about the place, but the more time passes, the more Kageyama feels like everyone else in the world has died and it’s just him and his former teammate who probably still hates him--but people don’t usually invite people they hate out for Saturday afternoon cafe chats, right? Kageyama isn’t sure, and he swears he can hear Tsukishima laughing at his stupidity in the back of his mind.-Or: On the precipice of adulthood, Kageyama and Kindaichi attempt to make amends.
Relationships: Kageyama Tobio & Kindaichi Yuutarou
Comments: 9
Kudos: 39





	change

**Author's Note:**

> hi! i haven't posted fanfiction in literal years but the combo of quarantine, season 4, and the latest manga arc made me feral and i decided to go ahead and post something! i have a substantial backlog of random things i've written over the last few years so maybe some day i'll put more of it out, who's to say?
> 
> anyway, hope you enjoy! comments and kudos much appreciated. :)

In retrospect, maybe he should have been more suspicious, Kageyama is beginning to wonder as he takes another hasty sip of his already half-empty milk tea. The mug meets the tabletop with a resounding thud when he sets it down again; the cafe is far from empty, but Kageyama might as well be the only person in the whole establishment with the way every sound he makes seems to echo hollowly through the empty booth.

Kageyama eyes the vacant seat across from him and wonders glumly if he’s been duped.

He isn’t sure why he agreed to meet up with Kindaichi. After their bitter reunion at the tournament in first year, Kageyama was pretty sure he’d never hear from Kindaichi again.  _ “We were never friends in the first place,” _ his former teammate had declared. When they were in middle school, back before everything fell apart, they used to come to this very cafe with Kunimi sometimes after school when they had off from practice. The thought crosses Kageyama’s mind that maybe this was just Kindaichi’s way of rubbing salt in the wound.

Before he can sink too far down that defeatist rabbit hole, there is motion to Kageyama’s left and a voice over his shoulder lets out a quiet, “Hey.”

Kageyama’s head jerks up from his rapidly-cooling drink to see Kindaichi slide into the seat across from him, coffee cup in hand. He seems to carry the late January chill in with him; Kageyama suddenly feels a shiver up his spine, and belatedly recognizes it as fear.

“Hey, Kindaichi,” he finally greets back. “It’s been a while.”

Kindaichi snorts, leaning his elbow on the table. “It sure has. Remember when we used to come here in middle school and order the most ridiculous drinks possible?”

Kageyama feels the corners of his mouth quirk up in a slight smile. “I do,” he sighs, eyeing the drinks they’ve both ordered now--a simple milk tea for him, and what looks to be a regular latte for Kindaichi--and feels an inexplicable twitch of sadness.

“Sorry I’m late, by the way,” Kindaichi apologizes, as if eager to shift the conversation back to the present. “My bus got delayed.”

“It’s fine,” Kageyama assures him like he wasn’t seconds away from concluding he’d been stood up just five minutes earlier.

An uncomfortable silence falls between them, and Kageyama squirms under Kindaichi’s piercing gaze peering over the edge of his cup. Other patrons mill about the place, but the more time passes, the more Kageyama feels like everyone else in the world has died and it’s just him and his former teammate who probably still hates him--but people don’t usually invite people they hate out for Saturday afternoon cafe chats, right? Kageyama isn’t sure, and he swears he can hear Tsukishima laughing at his stupidity in the back of his mind.

“So,” Kindaichi finally starts. “Graduation, huh? You’re planning to go pro, right?”

Kageyama nods. “And you’re going to--”

“College, right. Haven’t decided where. Definitely here in Miyagi, though.” Kindaichi turns his gaze down to the tabletop, fingers tapping idly against the sides of his coffee cup.

“Are you going to play volleyball?” Kageyama asks like it’s the only thing that matters. And to him, maybe it kind of is.

Kindaichi shrugs. “Maybe. I didn’t get a scholarship or anything, so it’s not really a priority.” He smirks. “Though I guess that’s a pretty foreign concept to you.”

It’s Kageyama’s turn to shrug as he answers, “Most of my former teammates stopped playing more than just recreationally after high school.”

Kindaichi hums, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the faded leather booth. A beat passes before he says, “Ah, congratulations on the third place finish, by the way.”

Kageyama straightens up at the praise. “Thanks!” he beams. “It wasn’t just me, though--Karasuno has a pretty strong team these days.”

“Never in a million years did I think I’d hear you talk like that,” Kindaichi muses with a sardonic smile.

Kageyama wilts and grimaces awkwardly against his will. “About that--”

“Right.” Kindaichi fixes him with a stare.

“I’m… sorry for the way I acted back then. I really have changed,” Kageyama says earnestly. “But it’s okay if you don’t forgive me.”

Kindaichi shrugs. “We’re not opponents anymore, and we’re about to graduate high school and who knows what’ll happen after that. It’s time to move past that, you know?”

“Right,” Kageyama practically whispers.

“Besides, I’m assuming there had to be a reason you started lashing out like that.”

“There was,” Kageyama confirms, meeting Kindaichi’s gaze. “But even if I told you everything, it wouldn’t justify any of it.”

Kindaichi sets his drink down haphazardly and bristles. “Hey, don’t go getting all self-righteous,” he retorts. “I’ve changed too! We all have.”

“I know.”

Another silence falls, less uncomfortable than the first but still enough to make both of them avert their eyes to anything other than each other. Kageyama takes an absent-minded sip of his tea only to grimace when he realizes it’s gone cold. Eventually, they start making smalltalk again, chatting about school and volleyball and Kunimi’s college plans and Hinata’s crazy Brazil scheme. Time ticks by slower than molasses, but Kageyama is still surprised when Kindaichi downs the rest of his latte in one go and pushes to his feet, shrugging his jacket over his shoulders.

“I have to go catch the bus,” he announces. “But… we should do this again sometime. If you want, I mean. I could even invite Kunimi?”

Kageyama smiles. “I wouldn’t mind that. I know you’ll be busy, though, with entrance exams and all.”

“Right.” Kindaichi stares up at the ceiling for a moment before his expression shifts to one of resolve and he looks Kageyama in the eyes. “I’ll make you a deal, then. Go win an Olympic medal, and then we’ll come back here and I’ll buy you the most complicated, most overpriced drink your two remaining brain cells can come up with.”

Kageyama grins. “You’re on.”

“Great.” Kindaichi chuckles and turns to go. “Take care, Kageyama. And good luck.”

“Bye, Kindaichi. Same to you.”

As he watches his former teammate go, Kageyama vows that if this is the beginning of a renewed friendship, he’s going to make sure Kindaichi never regrets it.


End file.
